Can you believe it’s that time of year already? I’m not talking about going back to school, I’m talking about getting your flu shot. If you have been listening to the radio, you may have heard the Shot@Life commercials talking about getting your flu shot. If you haven’t, that’s okay, you can listen to the commercial through the link posted below.

Shot@Life has partnered with Walgreens for the Get a Shot, Give a Shot Campaign. From now through October 14, when you receive your flu vaccine at participating Walgreens locations, Walgreens will help Shot@Life provide a life-saving vaccine to a child in a developing country. Together Shot@Life and Walgreens will provide up to 3 million polio and measles vaccines to children who need them most.

It’s really that simple. No appointment necessary. Just walk right in to your local Walgreens, get your flu shot and by doing so, you are not only protecting yourself, you will be protecting a child across the globe. And when you get your shot, have someone take your picture and send it to me!

Home is that sacred space – external or internal – where we don’t have to be afraid;
where we are confident of hospitality and love.
In our society we have many homeless people sleeping not only
on the streets, in shelters or in welfare hotels, but vagabonds who are in flight,
who never come home to themselves.
They seek a safe place through alcohol or drugs or security or success,
competence, friends, pleasure, notoriety, knowledge, or even a little religion.
They have become strangers to themselves, people who have an address
but are never home, who never hear the voice of love
or experience the freedom of God’s children.
~ Brennan Manning

Amy Pisani is the Executive Director of Every Child by Two, which is a non-profit focusing on child health advocacy by providing education on the importance of vaccines. She has provided us a comprehensive list of resources you can refer to regarding vaccine safety. Click on the link below to open up the PDF document. And, thanks Amy!

Many of you know that I recently came home from a trip to Washington, DC, where I attended a United Nations Foundation training for their Shot@Life campaign. The Shot@Life campaign educates, connects and empowers Americans to help protect children in developing countries from vaccine-preventable diseases. How does this happen? Vaccines. 1 in 5 children around the world does not have access to life saving vaccines. And, every 20 seconds a child dies from a disease that can be prevented, like polio, measles, rotovirus and pneumococcal disease. To give this statistic a picture, imagine all of the kindergarten classes in the United States this year, now picture half of those children missing. Unsettling isn’t it?

As a Mother who lost a daughter to a non-vaccine preventable form of pneumococcal meningitis, I understand how difficult it is to not only lose a child but also the importance of vaccines. A vaccine could not save my daughter, but guess what, vaccines do save lives every single day. We live in a country that has access to wonderful medicine, vaccines, and preventative care. Of course, in our country we also have the choice whether we access these services or not. But, that’s another story. The truth is, vaccinating our children from diseases in our country is a luxury we take for granted. We drive 10 minutes down the street to the pediatrician’s office, coffee in one hand, cell phone in the other. Our child gets a simple shot, they cry for 3 seconds, they get a sticker or small toy and the event is over. It’s pretty easy to take for granted the luxuries of our world. Don’t get me wrong, I love our country and love that we have access to anything we need at any given time.

But, many families in developing countries do not have the luxury of having access to something simple, like a vaccine, that can save their child’s life. Far away from here, Mothers are walking days to get their children vaccinated for polio and other infectious diseases. They view their vaccination card like that famous yellow ticket contestants get on American Idol. It’s a treasured piece of paper and valued in their family. I don’t know about you, but I want to give children a chance at winning that yellow ticket on American Idol.

How about you? Do you want to make this world a better place? Sound like a lofty goal? It’s not, and here is why. Once you understand what Shot@Life is all about, you understand that this is personal. We have the ability to do good, to be great, to make a difference. You have the opportunity of being part of something greater than yourself, to give a child a healthy shot at life.

There are many ways you can get involved with Shot@Life. You can advocate (it’s easier than you think), you can raise funds or lobby for the cause. Utilize whatever your gift may be and together, let’s make this world a better place. Click here to learn more.

The Colorado Children’s Immunization Coalition (CCIC) launched a new blog today called Team Vaccine. The Team Vaccine blog will feature posts from doctors, nurses, parents, researchers, advocates and community members who are passionate about immunization and protecting kids from vaccine-preventable disease. Today I was fortunate to be the first post. Read my story.